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Try to figure out what the three most important things on the page are.
Probably your headline, call to action and the deal.
Take those and work on a layout...
Then add in items later

Does the ad have to be only type according to the project assignment? If not, maybe a pic or two to illustration what is on sale or what you are selling? People like shiny things, and pictures are shiny.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not. ~ Kurt Cobain

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Try to figure out what the three most important things on the page are.
Probably your headline, call to action and the deal.
Take those and work on a layout...
Then add in items later

Thanks for the advice. I'll get to that with my sketchpad and upload the new design sometime later.

Does the ad have to be only type according to the project assignment? If not, maybe a pic or two to illustration what is on sale or what you are selling? People like shiny things, and pictures are shiny.

I forgot to mention, like you guessed, it's supposed to be a typography design. So can't use pictures or illustrations just lines and typefaces.

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I'm a newbie, but I want to take a stab at giving some advice. I think you're caught off guard by the need for it to be typography-focused that you forgot your basic hierarchy rules. Go back to the basics and think (for a newspaper ad), this need to be functional, not an artistic piece.

Good luck! Would love to see the final!

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For a sports ad don't use pink, well unless it's female only
the kerning is too loose to read on the small type
Are you prohibited from using any art? Type only? If not use some sport art, like equipment.
If you are prohibited use real logos
Kynectic sports is repeated too often, if this the store logo add an address

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I like how you are playing with type - I think newspaper ads should do more of these sorts of things

Like everyones been saying - your hierarchy is way off. The name of the store is one of the least noticeable things to me. And its also definitely too busy - half the content I did not even get a chance to read because theres just so much of it.

Keep the style, remove at least half of the content (or if it is mandatory, reduce the least important information in size it to a level where it does not compete with the rest of the ad). Do not add anymore fonts, play with size and placement to create hierarchy.

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For a sports ad don't use pink, well unless it's female only
the kerning is too loose to read on the small type
Are you prohibited from using any art? Type only? If not use some sport art, like equipment.
If you are prohibited use real logos
Kynectic sports is repeated too often, if this the store logo add an address

Yeah, we're restricted to type only, no logo's, no pictures and obviously no illustrations. And it's supposed to be red and black not pink and black.

By the way, thanks for all the advice people, really helps, I'm working on the new piece right now. Will upload it later for more feedback.

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Very nice for a first attempt. However, I just agreed with the other comments here about hierarchy. Advertisements should be a balance of content and attraction. Perhaps, this site will offer you help in newspaper advertisements.